you expect me to watch an hour and a half long interview (as far as I can surmise from the running time) without giving the slightest reason why this particular feature length talk fest is worth that much time, above all other things that I could do in 83 mins.

thought you guys liked Louis CK...it's what you can expect from a Howard Stern interview, not very funny but I think it's the most insightful thing with him I've heard. He talks about the Woody Allen thing...Idk, if you like Louie CLICK IT!

i didn't find his fumbling annoying or unrealistic. what was meant to be communicated is that the entire thing was thrust upon him, that destiny hits you with good luck with as much severity and lack of forewarning as it does with bad luck. and that it can be just as disorientating.

so he was fumbling, not because he didn't know what to do or he was an imbecile, but because he just hadn't adjusted to the situation. this is all addressing pic's points against the talk show arc. it was made clear the instant he committed to his fate. the risky part was leaving this turning point to the last possible minute. and that's what they did, and it worked.

Lynch's advice was SO LYNCHIAN it was just incredible. the momentary transformation of the secretary... no other show could pull this off. they used Lynch and his vibe and incorporated it into the whole piece like a master jazz musician. no wonder susan e morse has found a home editing this show, this is as good as top tier woody.

he had me crying with laughter in the first 5 mins of the last episode, the whole ordeal with the eyeless doll, every single moment was perfect, it was like an encapsulation of the show's entire ethos. you could study that scene and learn how to edit comedy. THREE EYES oh my god. so many climaxes it was insane. it reminded me of the beginning of CMBB, before plainview even says a word. that there is an entire life behind every present moment.

listen, let me get back to why the talk show arc worked. i'm sure it's been said before by a million people, but this show is about the moment like no other show on tv. Louie is just trying to get by not day to day but SECOND BY SECOND. at every turn he encounters so many unexpected characters and adventures, some that take over an episode, some that are just a few minutes long but just as memorable, that he has made walking away from things into a transcendental moment. when liz/parker posey died, done, he walked away. fucking ZEN master.

all the best moments of the series, not just this season, have captured this meditative state. there have been few exceptions where it's delivered on Curb levels of miscommunication such as the airport goodbye to pamela adlon but where it really shines is simply Louie's ability to walk away. SO BACK TO THE TALK SHOW ARC.. the difficulty of this "gag" was that it took 3 episodes to grapple with which direction to walk. he couldn't just accept it and he coudn't just deny it. the first would be walking away not from a momentary intrusion of chaos but from his whole life, that is the thing that grounds him through all the chaos he encounters in every episode. the other option, to flat out deny it, would be to walk away from a future order that would make the present seem like chaos..

the way they resolved it is, predictable or not (since he couldn't REALLY take over from letterman.. or could he?), absolutely satisfying on every level possible. most importantly in his character, but even more importantly in the spirit of the show, which is always reflected in him anyway. the moment he went to yell at the Ed Sullivan Theatre that he "did it", well, what had he done? he played the big leagues and in his own way, won. his own way. literally depicted as he walks down the middle of whatever famous street that is.

i mean, maybe this is obvious. whatever. it's done so well, so earnestly and sincerely and with so much heart. ultimately there is no cynicism in this show, there's no time for it. every other great comedy show i can think of is full of cynicism, some of them i love to death like curb and seinfeld and peep show. but this show and the golden age of the simpsons are the only ones that i know that persistently and fearlessly explore everything that happens when cynicism isn't an option. I could not pay it higher a compliment.

what you end up with is ultimately hope, love, opportunity, second chances, limitless possibilities, and a dignified way to face the interminable SHIT that gets thrown upon us day to day, minute to minute.

you should be ashamed of yourselves for not nominating this in the xaxies.

That's a good write-up which makes me appreciate the finale and entire season a lot more. P I highly recommend you check out Louie's interview with Marc Maron on WTF (I know you're adversed to podcasts but it's a great listen) as well as his interview with Stern, although the former is much more insightful into his process making the show. There is no other TV writer operating with as much freedom as Louie right now. FX doesn't even get to read his scripts. They comment on the edit after Louie's had at it a few rounds. It's pretty remarkable to see a writer operate a TV show without the influence of a writer's room, especially when the output is this good. Louie admits he does concept with a friend for episode ideas but the scriptwriting is all him.

this last season was hands down one of the most amazing things i've seen. babysitting the bathtub kid episode never gets old. not too much to say that pbrix didnt. any recently updated news on more seasons?

It's worth it to listen to the Stern interview while you're doing something else.

Louie was on with the Man of Letters about a month ago, generating some brief hilarity.

I love the guy. His special was great stuff, and in looking at him in comparison to other comics, I so admire how he starts from scratch each time around in his standup. You see when other comedians repeat themselves in their specials and this trait of Louie's then makes him seem more admirable. And the repetition in others' routines just sticks out more like a sore thumb.

His show is one of my faves nowadays (BB is SO 2011 -- heh). The three episode arc with Lynch as a producer was an amazing brainstorm (there was an article somewhere saying how once Louie thought of Lynch for the role he realized no one else could have done it and he wouldn't have without him). It was even more amazing to see it play out. It was as if Louie put Lynch in one of his own movies as -- well, not so much of an antagonist, but I don't even know what the word for him would be -- and cast himself as star. The season could have easily gone out on that note, but instead it reveled in the quiet after the storm, and the story of how he goes to seek out a landmark from a story he reads to his daughter. After the importance of what he says and how he says it was so stressed in that time in which he was trying for Letterman's spot, here he's able to get away from all, and escape into the silence and alienation of a world where he doesn't understand a thing, and he has fun doing it. It seems like every little vignette tackles some absurdity about society as we experience it, puts it under his microscope, and then smashes it much like his car got smashed in the season 3 premiere. It makes me optimistic when artists like him get their due. Let's not forget the arc with that crazy chick played by Piper Perabo. Reminds me a tiny bit of Leigh's Naked, the midnight journey, the quest for truth and human connection, hidden under the guise of debauchery.

Season Three is now on Netflix, which spurred me to finally catch up with it, and I can't think of much that I've ever seen that was better. Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.

Season Three is now on Netflix, which spurred me to finally catch up with it, and I can't think of much that I've ever seen that was better. Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.

Completely agree, although I put Season 2 on a SLIGHTLY higher pedestal. But it really and truly is the best filmmaking happening right now.

Agree with both of you. Episode 5 in Season 3, when he and Parker Posey go up on top of that building and she's sitting on the ledge was my favorite...went places you don't see in any other TV series, let alone most films.

Agree with both of you. Episode 5 in Season 3, when he and Parker Posey go up on top of that building and she's sitting on the ledge was my favorite...went places you don't see in any other TV series, let alone most films.

That was a great, great moment.

Every time you think you know how it's going to go, it goes in a direction that you can't possibly expect (usually at the exact moment that you think you get it), in a way that's never cheap, but that is insightful about humanity. And also really fucking funny. On top of all that, so many moments of grace.

Season Three is now on Netflix, which spurred me to finally catch up with it, and I can't think of much that I've ever seen that was better. Every moment of every scene of every episode was packed with lessons on how to be a better writer/filmmaker/person. I must re-watch it and put my studying hat on.

Yes! He seems like he's in the trenches, struggling with what it means to be a good human being.

In the recent Conan appearance below, you can really see his beard and hair greying. His looks are growing into his wisdom.

The surprising thing for me about the show, is that not only does it showcase his immense humanity, which is readily apparent in the stand-up, (though before the show it was laced with a bit stronger cynicism), but it's his incredible strong sense of form. Which shows or films does the amount of narrative experiments you find in Louie? Every episode is a completely unique entity, it's form being whatever the story dictates. In complete antithesis to what seems to be the big thing in shows now, narratives that span every season and the entire show, the extreme episodic nature and complete disregard for continuity between episodes is definitely one of Louie's strong points. I makes it all the more unpredictable and let's Louie do whatever he wants wherever he wants to do it. It's seems closer in spirit to something like South Park, in that it bends it's logic around whatever it wants to portray.